1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to golf accessories, and more particularly to a golf mat that replicates the feel of natural turf without having to replace divots when making practice swings.
2. Description of Prior Art and Related Information
During a conventional golf swing, the golfer lines the club up with a golf ball which lies on a tee or a grass surface. During the swing motion, the golf club generally, and preferably, impacts the ball slightly below the ball's mid-height lateral surface to create the desired amount of vertical trajectory. To achieve the desired outcome when striking a golf ball on a grass surface, the golf club head must travel through the uppermost part of the grass surface during the follow through. Thus, upon impact, it is common for divots, which are small pockets of grass material, to be removed during a golf swing due to the shear forces created internally within the turf itself. Divots are also important in that they provide feedback to the golfer, allow a complete follow through, and provide a more controlled and accurate resultant golf ball velocity and trajectory.
Natural grass surfaces have the ability to absorb the impact of the golf club during the golf club swing due mostly in part to the underlying compressibility and impact absorbing properties of the soil substructure. As such, the golfer generally does not feel the golf club head hit the grass surface and an optimal amount of the golf club's kinetic energy is imparted to the golf ball.
In order to perfect a golf swing and resultant ball trajectory, a golfer must repetitively practice the golf swing motions and the stance during the swing. As such, it is desirable for the golfer to repeatedly practice this swinging motion in a designated area. However, as explained above, with the inherent divot creation during a normal golf swing, natural grass surfaces are not practical for a golf swing practice location due to the inevitable numerous divots created, which would subsequently render the golf practice area useless within a very short period of time.
Driving ranges enable golfers to practice their golf swings using their woods and their irons. A typical driving range may be 350 to 400 yards in length, or longer, space permitting, and of sufficient width to accommodate a number of golfers at the same time. Typically, each golfer is allotted a predetermined amount of practice space within which he or she can safely swing their club to hit a golf ball down the driving range. The golfer may hit their ball from a wooden or plastic tee or from the surface of the practice space. When the golfer uses a tee, the golfer's swing should be and usually is identical to that which the golfer uses during normal play. However, when the golfer has not used a tee and has hit a ball from the surface of a practice space, the golfer usually has been required to adjust his or her swing to accommodate the conditions of the surface of the practice space.
The nature of the surface of the practice space can vary widely at any given driving range and from driving range to driving range. For example, the surface may comprise grass covered turf which is substantially identical to the conditions which the golfer would normally encounter on a conventional golf course fairway. Under such conditions, the golfer can and normally would utilize his or her normal swing which, when using an iron and sometimes when using a wood, requires that the club head be driven downwardly and “through” the ball resulting in the making of a divot at the apex of the swing. Unfortunately, such ideal conditions are not found at many driving ranges.
There has thus been a long-standing need within the golfing art to replicate the feel and feedback of natural grass surfaces for golf practice locations. Currently, artificial grass surfaces are utilized mainly for driving ranges. Artificial grass surfaces are generally preferred over natural grass surfaces for golf practice swinging due to the fact that artificial grass has greater longevity, is not prone to naturally occurring divots, is generally more customizable, and is less costly to maintain.
However, a major problem with creating a consistent and practical artificial grass surface is to create a natural feel to the synthetic grass surface and underlying core substructure. For example, some conventional golf practice artificial grass surfaces consist of a polymer based artificial grass leaf material overlaid on a hardened surface, such as wood, concrete or the like. A major limitation of such an artificial golf practice swing surface is the lack of realistic replication of the underlying soil substructure or turf.
When the golf club hits the artificial grass surface during a normal golf swing, and since the underlying surface does not have adequate compressive abilities or impact absorbing properties, the swing path of the golf club is redirected to a plane parallel to the grass surface thereby not allowing a follow through consistent with that experienced on natural turf wherein a divot is taken. Furthermore, when the golf club hits the hardened underlying surface, more often than not, the impact by the golf club creates undesirable and potentially dangerous shocks and vibrations to the golfer, thus possibly physically harming the golfer as well as damaging the golf club itself.
Accordingly, a need exists to improve golf practice mats so that they replicate the feel of natural turf, without the disadvantages thereof.